Our first clutch of the year hatched yesterday, 7 healthy little chicks are now snoozing in thee indoor brooder. It was a great way to kick off PRE-Spring!  Since actual spring still has a few weeks to go, I’m going to call this next few weeks PRE-Spring.  We expect springtime conditions about half the time, so that should work out fine.  Later this week the highs will be in the 60’s and the lows in the upper 40’s.. that’s like spring here!  My freeranging rooster Wattles will certainly be glad for that. The last couple of nights he’s been camping in a pile of hay underneath the table of show birds on the front porch. The freezing temps have done a number on his comb and even his wattles, and just for the record, mild frostbite doesn’t look fun.

If you’ve noticed our Google Calendar you’ll see that on Friday we are schedule for our NPIP Certification!  This is exciting news as we want very much to be responsible & productive.  Two of our guys were tested last year at the Cocke County Show and they were clean, so I expect that everyone here will be as most came from hatcheries or known quality breeders. For a small fee we will now become part of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP).  The purpose of this program is to maintain flock health nationwide and a continued effort to keep Pullorum or Typhoid infected poultry from infecting other poultry. This will mean for me that I can safely sell excess stock, baby chicks and fertile eggs without worry, and that others can receive those without worry of infecting their flock with one of those deadly diseases.

Photos of our new hatchlings will be posted as soon as they fluff up!  Until then, I’m off now to take boiling water out to all the frozen waterers & refill feeders for the day.